USMLE Struggling with Step 1 Multiple Times

[mito215]

Hi! I’ve taken Step 1 three times it didn’t go well. I want to take it a fourth time, but I’m not sure how to convince my school to let me do that.



I’m a decent student staying above average on all my curriculum exams. For my practice USMLE, they have all been passing, and except for the first one, have all been around the 230 range. The school has seen all that and has given me multiple times to take the exam but I am not sure what’s happening.

I will do whatever is necessary because this is basically what I have worked and pushed for my entire life.



If anyone could offer any advice, insight or guidance, I would really appreciate it. My questions are 1) what can I say/bring up to the school that will consider giving me another chance? 2) How did you study for the exam? I do well on tests and practice but something is messing me up on the actual exam and a change of study habits help might help? 3) Any general guidance to someone who’s failed the exam?

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[gyngyn]

Have you been evaluated for test anxiety? accommodations?

 

[Dral]

You probably know this, but if your school lets you go for a 4th attempt, this is your last one. It used to be six tries, but now it's only four. If you fail this fourth time, you're pretty much done.

If your school lets you do it again, I'd see if you can take some time off and really figure out how to nail this thing. Your career depends on this last chance.

Common Questions | Attempt Limit

Find answers to common questions on the USMLE attempt limit policy.

www.usmle.org

 

[Osteosaur]

First off, really sorry you're going through this. No experience with failing, so take it with a grain of salt. Scored 230 for what its worth. Not great but I passed as an average student.

Are you well into third year by now? I think ultimately if your school doesn't intend to let you try to pass the exam they should have cut you loose. I assume you've been chugging along in third year under massive stress. It seems like whatever guidance your school has provided has failed you. Have they offered any recommendations? Have you followed them?

1) Your best bet might be to prove you need some kind of accommodation or get worked up for test anxiety. Or at the very least show them things will be different this time. It sounds like you don't know why you keep failing.

2) When you score 230s on these practice exams are you doing them under testing conditions? I took mine wearing a mask and not going to the bathroom whenever I pleased. Its important to mimic those test stressors.

3) Your school should've intervened with every possible resource to study/connections to their best test-takers, when you failed the first time. What strategies have you tried? Most people do a lot of UWorld (like 80-120 per day) with Anking, Zanki, etc for content review.

4) Are you at a US MD school? DO? If you pass you're kind of at a razor's edge where you might be at risk of not matching or getting bodied on Step 2. Have you considered another path?

 

[Premier Review]

You should be able to demonstrate that you have a working plan to fix your test taking skills, knowledge base, as well as behavior issues if any. You should provide evidences of your claims.

Know your weakness.

Preparing for the exam: clarity of thought in terms of concepts and adequate knowledge. Question solving strategy: solving questions in order to improve critical thinking and correct reading habits. Solving questions from more than two question banks. Assessment on regular intervals.

 

[nyctopdoc]

Sorry to hear that. Ideally you should talk to the classmates who passed & try to gather best tips and tricks for you to pass. This would possibly identify the weak areas for you and help you understand where you are lacking.